Child abuse survivor empowered by predator hunt

Mar. 26—MILTON — Donald Kizer never had the chance to confront the relative who sexually abused him as a child but today the Milton resident is among a growing number of amateur sleuths using social media to expose pedophiles and bring them to justice.

Kizer said he was repeatedly assaulted from age 9 to 13 but didn't acknowledge the trauma he endured until he was in his mid-20s and his abuser was dead. He's had counseling but still struggles with depression and trust issues.

Recently, though, the 49-year-old has been feeling empowered by trying to catch sex abusers of children.

When he began seeing videos on Facebook and other social media platforms where people would post confrontations with suspected pedophiles they'd met online, Kizer decided to join their ranks last November.

"There are hundreds and hundreds of pedophiles out there. I want parents to see how easy it is to meet a pedophile online," said Kizer. "I have four grandbabies and I don't want anything to happen to them."

The FBI estimates there are about 500,000 active pedophiles online each day. A 2022 Washington Post survey found 160 child predator hunter groups working in the U.S.

The idea of posing online as a minor came to Donald Kizer through the work of people like 43-year-old Musa Harris, the self-described Luzerne County Predator Catcher, who claims to have caught hundreds of suspected pedophiles across Pennsylvania in the past three years.

The actions of these amateur child predator hunters have drawn mixed reviews from law enforcement.

In January, Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi invited Harris to his Capitol office to laud his work catching child sexual offenders while prosecutors like Dauphin County District Attorney Francis T. Chardo have expressed caution and declined to pursue charges based on evidence supplied by amateur sleuths.

Kizer said as soon as he began posing as a 15-year-old boy on apps such as Grindr and MeetMe last November, adult men would reach out and engage him in sexually explicit conversations.

He even arranged face-to-face meetings with a few of the men who Kizer said expected a sexual act would occur. Before any physical contact was made and just as Kizer showed himself to be an adult, his wife, Sandy Kizer, would be videotaping and live-streaming the interaction on Facebook.

One of those encounters was in January with Steven J. Barge, 41, of Northumberland.

After Kizer took the videotape and online messages to borough police, Barge was charged with felony sex crimes against a child. Charges are pending in Northumberland County Court.

A similar encounter Kizer had with an adult male in Muncy also resulted in charges.

But not all police and prosecutors agree about how to handle evidence provided by amateur child predator hunters like Kizer. Many are unwilling to take on the cases.

Snyder County District Attorney Michael Piecuch declined to prosecute a case earlier this month that was brought with evidence provided by Kizer.

After posing online as a 15-year-old boy in early February and meeting outside the home of a 73-year-old Snyder County man who had sent him explicit photos, Kizer took his evidence to Selinsgrove borough police and charges were filed.

Piecuch withdrew the felony charges during the preliminary hearing earlier this month.

"Prosecutors have ethical and legal duties," said Piecuch. "While (predator hunters') intentions are noble, there's a concern they're not educated about the legal process. The issue isn't about the information we're getting, but whether the information is gathered in a legally proper way."

There's also the safety aspect of confronting an alleged criminal, he said.

Kizer, who said his work as an EMT helps in his venture hunting suspected pedophiles because he is able to remain calm in face-to-face meetings with these individuals, said he doesn't fear for his personal safety.

He also doesn't view his actions as vigilantism, as some law enforcement have described it. He admits to being "frustrated" by Piecuch's refusal to prosecute, but said it was a friend and not himself who posted anti-Piecuch sentiments online and called for a protest at the prosecutor's church.

"The definition of a vigilante is someone who takes the law in their own hands and dishes out punishment. I'm not doing that," Kizer said.

Sandy Kizer admits she was "terrified" the first time she accompanied her husband on a meeting with a suspected child predator.

She now considers her husband's actions as important in helping to remove "people who don't belong on the street. I feel people should be aware of it."

Piecuch said his professional record prosecuting child sex offenders "speaks for itself" and he is interested in working with people like Kizer, with conditions.

"I would invite Mr. Kizer to contact me and discuss how we can do things so it stands up in court," he said. "We work with citizens and confidential informants all the time. We'll take any help we can get."